Aaron Bauer's gecko (''Hemidactylus aaronbaueri)'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Gekkonidae Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 62 genera. The Gekkonidae contain many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (''Hemidactylus''), the tokay gecko (''Ge ...

. The species is also referred to as the African House Gecko. Geckos as an overall family in comparison to other

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s are known to be invasive. They were discovered to have emerged in a remote area known as Lom Yen Cave. They are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

in which the remote region lies. The

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

of the gecko "Aaron Bauer's Gecko" is derived from a well-known biology professor at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

in the state of Pennsylvania (US). This species of gecko is closely related to five other species as well.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''aaronbaueri'', is in honor of American herpetologist Aaron M. Bauer, PhD ..

Background on Aaron Bauer

Aaron Matthew Bauer grew up in and first found his love of reptiles in Long Island, New York at the young age of five. By that age, he knew he wanted to be a

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

and his interests only grew from there. He eventually studied at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

receiving his bachelor's degree in science and then graduated from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

with a Ph.D. Over the last thirty years, he has since done field work in over 29 countries and described more than seven percent of the 1,800 living geckos. Bauer has also published hundreds of articles and literature including the "atlas of life" regarding lizards and a John's Hopkins Press published book "Geckos: The Animal Answer Guide". The renowned herpetologist has been rewarded many accomplishments for his works and has countless affiliations with societies and universities all over the world. He now resides outside of Philadelphia near Villanova with his wife, Monica, and pet Maltese, Bertie. Currently, he is as a professor and Gerald M. Lemole Endowed Chair in Integrative Biology at the University of Villanova since 1988 while still researching and discovering geckos, much like the Aaron Bauer gecko.

Geographic range

''H. aaronbaueri'' itself is found in Khammouane Province,

. While there is not a great amount of information regarding the geographic range of ''H. aaronbaueri'', there is more information available on the locations of the whole

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

. Speaking in terms of the ''

Hemidactylus ''Hemidactylus'' is a genus of the common gecko family, Gekkonidae. It has 194 described species, newfound ones being described every few years. These geckos are found in all the tropical regions of the world, extending into the subtropical parts ...

'' genus as a whole, they are typically spread out through the Mediterranean areas and Southern Asia. Many species in this genus are also found throughout India. There just are over twenty species geographically distributed in the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

specifically. In the state

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

in India, there are close to ten more species in this genus found. In addition to all of the species found in India mentioned before, more members of the ''Hemidactylus'' are dispersed in neighboring countries as well as immense regions of Asia.

Habitat

The preferred natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s of ''H. aaronbaueri'' are

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

, caves, and rocky areas, at altitudes of 150–200 m (490–660 ft). Geckos live on all continents of the world except Antartica. Specifically, the Aaron Bauer gecko resides on the continent of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

in Khammouane Province, Laos. This territory is a region found in Thailand where there are many sites to see, yet a large quantity of untouched land. The terrain in this region consists of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

mountains with lush forests and various caves. The specific isolated cave region in the Loas territory, known as Lom Yen Cave, where the species is found, is made up of the limestone in a remote,

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

mountain in the range.

Description

''H. aaronbaueri'' is medium-sized for its genus. Maximum recorded snout-to-vent length (SVL) is 8 cm (3.1 in). This is different from average geckos that vary in lengths from 18 cm to 30 cm. The back side of this organism consists of about six off-white dots along the spine that are intermixed with yellow patterning, all of which extend from the neck to the base of the spine. On the sides of their bodies, there are groups of more off-white dots patterned with darker-colored markings outlined in yellow in the middle of limb attachments. This species of gecko also has approximately 100 rows of even flat scales on the dorsal side. Aaron Bauer geckos can also be described as rupicolas (associated with rocks). Due to the fact the species is also in the family

, this means the gecko has toe pads for scaling large rocks or any other surface.

Etymology

Background on Aaron Bauer

Geographic range

Habitat

Description

References

Further reading